The Box Dilemma
by Super Sheba
Summary: Poor Picard, his djinn are angry with him, and they seem to have an evil plan concerning Picard and a very well sealed box......


Mia: Super Sheba doesn't own Golden Sun, otherwise she'd have told everyone how old Picard is! 

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**The Box Dilemma**

Picard was completely baffled and unsure of what to do.  He had just gathered all of his belongings, and had begun to pack for the return to his home, Lemuria, yet no matter how hard he pushed on and re-sorted dishes, or refolded clothing, the box would not seal.  Of course, Picard COULD have asked for help in the packing of his things, but being proud of his intelligence and ability to do almost anything challenging him, he refused to ask anyone to aid him in his struggle.  Besides, getting another box was quite unthinkable.   

            "No amount of packing tape is going to fix this grand mess." sighed Picard as he again began to remove the many items from the overflowing box.  "And I cannot stay in Contigo much longer!  I must return home." 

            Unknown to Picard, a few mischievous pair of eyes were watching him from behind.  Shade and Fizz began to snicker as they looked on at a very frustrated Picard, attempting to fit all of his belongings into a single box.  Still wanting to take revenge on Picard for the "incident" a few days ago, Shade and Fizz found this to be a perfect time to execute their plan with perfect precision, Picard being too absorbed in his dilemma to pay the djinn any attention whatsoever.

            "Frost!" yelled Picard as he attempted to seal the box with a blast of ice, the ice only shattering as it hit the box.  "Sheesh, I should have known not to get extra-high quality boxes.  I guess the motto "You'll break before it does" actually applies to the box."

            Shade and Fizz slowly began to silently creep towards the box, as Picard pulled the last item from the box and layed it onto the floor.  Within moments, Shade had wrestled the packing tape from Picard and wrapped it around his hands and mouth, and with a push, Picard sealed within a rather large box.  Shade quickly sealed the box with several layers of packing tape, then began to laugh as he stared at the box which appeared to slowly be moving across the floor.

            "MMMMPH MMPH, MMM MMMPH MPMH MPH" yelled Picard from inside the box as he struggled to find a way out of the box.  (Translation: Help, I'M AFRAID OF THE DARK…..LET ME OUT!!!!!!!!)

            Much to Picard's relief, a creaky door opened, and Isaac walked in slowly, thinking it would be fun to pay his Lemurian friend a quick visit before his move.  

            "Wow, I guess Picard is all ready to return to Lemuria." Isaac said as he stared down at what appeared to be an empty room save the box.  "I guess I should help him put this box on his ship."

            Isaac leaned down, wrapping his arms around the rather large and cumbersome box, but suddenly set it down, realizing the box was far too heavy for him to lift.  

            "Oh well, I tried." thought Isaac as he left the box in the middle of the room.  "Besides, I'm not a muscle man like Garet.  I know, I'll go find Garet to help!"

"MMMMMMMMMMMMPHHHHHHHHHH!!!" came a muffled cry from the well-sealed box as Isaac let the door slam shut. (Translation: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!)       

            Tears began to form in Picard's eyes as he stared around at the inside of the box.  There was absolutely no escape whatsoever, and he knew his djinn would never help him, considering they had stuffed him into the box.  

            "I'm going to die of starvation in here!!!!" thought Picard as he frustratedly attempted to break free from the box using blasts of  douse, hoping the water would weaken the so-called cardboard box.  "I'll get put onto the ship, but I'll NEVER GET BACK TO LEMURIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

            Picard shuddered at the thought of living the rest of his life in a box, which would be quite a long time due to the immense amounts of Lemurian draught he had drunk throughout his life.   Not wanting to end life in such a tragic way as starving to death in a box, Picard began to think of ways to escape.  He couldn't imagine someone finding his body in the box years from now, and wished desperately somebody would realize it was not his belongings in the box, but Picard himself sealed within the confines of the box.  

            "Will anyone ever find me?" wondered Picard as he listened to his djinn laughing in the next room.  "Hopefully Isaac will return with Garet, and together they'll figure out I am stuck here."

            The front door of Picard's home opened to reveal Isaac and his brawny companion Garet.  The two young men stepped slowly into the house, trying to keep quiet as they entered the front room, where Picard lay still trapped I his packing box.

            "So this is the uh...what's it called…that needs to be moved?" Garet asked Isaac as he waited for instructions. 

            "Garet…" Isaac sighed with a look of disbelief on his face.  "It's called a box, just don't….."

            "Well, I guess boxes are flammable, because when I cast flare on it, it started to burn!" exclaimed Garet as he smiled stupidly at his friend.  

            "Euhhhhhhhh!" grunted Isaac in exasperation.  "Now Picard's stuff will be completely burned, and it'll be all our fault!"  

            At the words of box and fire, Picard began to get a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.  Even the most high quality boxes were reduced to nothing in fire.  Picard began to feel very anxious as he clawed at the side of the box.  The heat from the flames eating away at the cardboard of the box seemed to burn at Picard's skin though no flames had touched him.

            "Great, now instead of starving to death, I'm going to burn!" Picard exclaimed though his remarks were inaudible to the panicking adepts watching the box burn.  "HELP ME!!!!!"

            "We'd better go get Master Hama and ask her for help!"  Isaac suggested as he grabbed Garet by the arm and pulled him towards Master Hama's home.  

            The inside of Master Hama's house was beautifully crafted, and the walls were decorated with intricate designs.  Isaac and Garet stared again at the designs on the walls, temporarily forgetting for what reason they had come to visit Master Hama in the first place.  Master Hama slowly slipped into the room unnoticed.

            "Hello Isaac, Garet."  Master Hama greeted politely, happy to see the friends of her brother Ivan again.  "Is there something I can do for you?"

            "Um, well, Garet and I decided to help Picard pack his belongings on his ship, but Garet, being one of no intelligence, decided to cast flare on the box."  Isaac explained as his hands moved wildly along with the tale being spun.  

            "Well, you know, you could just use water to put out the fire!" sighed Master Hama as she stared at the two adepts with exasperation.  

            Following Isaac and Garet closely as they hurried to Picard's home, Master Hama felt as though the two young adepts could not have made a bigger mistake.  Entering the house, Master Hama noticed the box moving around as muffled screams erupted from the box.  Grabbing Isaac's sword, she thrust it through the packing tape, tearing open the box, causing Picard's head to poke up through the opening.  At the sight of Master Hama with a sword in her hands, Picard began to shake with fear, knowing Master Hama was angry enough to resort to violence. 

            "VIOLENCE ANSWERS NOTHING!!!" shrieked Picard as he stared up into the eyes of a very unhappy looking Master Hama.  "DON'T HURT ME!!!!"

            "I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with the two bozos who almost burned you alive!"  

            "Oh," Picard said in surprise as he edged closer to Master Hama, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around herleg.  "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!!"  

            "Ummm, you're welcome, I think….." Master Hama shrugged as she looked down at Picard, only to realize he was in blue swim trunks, shirtless.  "Oh my," exclaimed Master Hama as she began to blush, only to catch herself staring at Picard's well-muscled chest.  "Man he's hot!" 

            "What did you say?" Isaac said as he began to stare oddly at a flushed Master Hama.

            "Um, I'm glad he's uhhhhh… not a fox?" Master Hama stuttered as she stared at her feet in embarrassment. 

"Sure, sure." Snickered Isaac as he pointed at Master Hama and whispered something to Garet, causing Master Hama to turn even redder.

With that, Master Hama stomped out of the small house in a huff, Picard still clinging to her leg. 


End file.
